Get Your Rants

Followers

Friday, October 30, 2015

Trench warfare fail

Taking stock of the Browns through the first seven games is
a little like wading through a mud bog in bare feet. It’s awfully messy.

Let’s start with the offense. Warning: It’s a total mess.

There are two aspects of football on offense: Running the
ball and throwing the ball. The Browns don’t do either well. The main culprits
are the brutes up front, the highly overrated offensive line.

Simply put, the five grunts along that line cannot
effectively run block and pass block. The dreaded double whammy. The ground
game churns out just 90 yards a game and the quarterbacks are like sitting
ducks when they drop back to throw.

That very, very offensive line has given up 26 sacks this
season totaling 151 yards in losses. In the last five games alone, it has surrendered
21 sacks (all with Josh McCown at quarterback), a considerably higher number of
quarterback hits and way, way, way
too many hurries.

Last week in St. Louis, McCown looked like a piñata as the Rams took
full advantage of a Cleveland offensive line that looked as if it mailed it in.

No one would blame McCown if he asks to skip Sunday’s home
game against the Arizona Cardinals if for no other reason than to regain a
modicum of health. Not to mention the kind of protection (a very loose
interpretation of the word here) he has received since coming back from a
concussion in the season opener.

He won’t, of course, because nothing will stop him from
facing for the first time the team that drafted him all those years ago. Either
that or he is a glutton for punishment. Maybe both.

Entering Sunday's game, the Browns have scored just 13 offensive
touchdowns in seven games and produced only 633 yards on the ground. Subtract
the 109 yards scrambling by McCown and Johnny Manziel and the ground game shrinks
to an embarrassing 75 yards a game.

One of the excuses offered up for that pathetic number is
that running backs Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson Jr. and Robert Turbin don’t hit
the hole quickly enough. That argument loses weight since it happens all the
time. It can’t be the backs’ fault all the time.

The Cleveland offensive line cannot run a simple screen
play, is not athletic enough to run counter plays and rarely springs a
runner on the edge. It has to resort to simple dive plays or quick traps
between the tackles.

If not for McCown’s three consecutive games or more than 300
yards in an offense that is almost totally tilted now toward the forward pass,
Cleveland’s offensive totals would be anemic.

As it is, the Browns average a modest 364 yards a game,
mostly because the opposition has virtually shut down anything resembling a
ground game. It’s as though a McCown handoff to Crowell, Turbin and Johnson is thrown
in as a pause in the action for the passing game.

Now let’s take a look at the defense, which was supposed to
be the team’s strength. Warning: It, too, is a total mess.

There are two aspects of football on defense: Stopping the run and pressuring the opposing quarterback. The Browns don’t do either well.

After seven games, that defense has regurgitated 393 yards a
game, 151 of those on the ground. Top draft pick Danny Shelton, whose girth was
supposed to take up space in the middle of the line, is almost an afterthought
after failing to do so. He averages two tackles a game and can be handled
one-on-one.

He isn’t the only one to blame. He has plenty of company in
a linebackers corps that has had a season-long problem sealing the edges, Time
after time, fans have witnessed opposing running backs running free and clear
around the flanks.

One sure way to lose a football game is failure to stop the
run. The Browns have accomplished that in spectacular fashion thus far this
season.

The only reason the passing figures (253 yards a game)
aren’t higher is because the opposition has so much success beating up the Cleveland
front seven on the ground. At the same time, the secondary has played
respectably, allowing a 59% completion rate despite a weak pass rush.

That pass rush has produced just 12 sacks – another
embarrassing figure – for 76 yards in losses. Incredibly, seven of those sacks
and half of those yards were rung up against the Tennessee Titans in the second
game of the season.

The secondary grows a little stronger against the Cardinals
with Joe Haden expected back after missing a few games. And the Browns will
definitely need him considering the Cardinals’ offense averages four touchdowns
and 407 yards a game. It very well might be the best offense the Browns face
this season.

Coach Bruce Arians’ offense is loaded with weapons starting
with quarterback Carson Palmer, who has thrown for 16 touchdowns and just five
interceptions while completing 65% of his passes.

Palmer is complemented by a strong running game led by Chris
Johnson, the former Tennessee Titans star running back who has three 100-yard
games and averages 5.1 yards a carry since taking over for the injured Andre
Ellington in the season opener. Ellington is being slowly worked back into the
Arizona game plan.

Palmer completes most of this passes to a strong group of
wide receivers (he rarely targets tight ends). Veteran future Hall of Famer
Larry Fitzgerald has rebounded nicely after a down season in 2014 and leads the
Cards with 46 receptions for 622 yards and six touchdowns. He’s on pace for 105
catches and more than 1,400 yards.

Palmer also loves throwing to John Brown and Michael Floyd.
This trio has combined for 11 touchdowns.

Oh and the Arizona offensive line has permitted just 10
sacks of Palmer. Not a bad hand with which Arians is playing. It’s the defense
where the Cardinals are somewhat vulnerable in that the pass rush has produced
just 12 sacks. So the Cleveland offensive line might catch a break Sunday
afternoon.

But if the Browns continue their season-long trend of
throwing about twice as often as they run, trouble lurks in the Cardinals’
secondary, which has picked off a dozen enemy passes with three pick 6s.
Throwing against cornerback Patrick Peterson and safeties Rashad Johnson,
Tyrann Mathieu and Tony Jefferson is asking for trouble.

OK, let’s sum up the Browns thus far. The offensive line
can’t run block or pass block and the defense can’t stop the run or the pass.
All of which loudly screams that games are won and lost in the trenches. Other
than that, everything is hunky dory when it comes to professional football
along the lakefront.

So how in the world are they going to stay with a team that
owns the best offense in the National Football League? The Cardinals are also coming
off a Monday night victory at home over Baltimore and have to travel cross
country.

It’s tough to win after playing on a Monday night and some
western teams do not travel well. That said, who are we kidding? This one will not
be close no matter who starts at quarterback for the Browns. They lose
three in a row for the first time this season and drop to 2-6 as the Cardinals fly
high. Make it:

Cardinals 37, Browns 10

(Full disclosure: I
did not see the Browns-St. Louis game last Sunday. Family emergency. Any information gleaned from that game is from watching televised highlights and reading
print medium reports.)

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Wanna coach Browns? Caveat emptor

Mike Pettine never banked on this when he took the job as
head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

This, of course, is being the head coach of arguably the most dysfunctional
team in the National Football League.

Being head coach of any team has its headaches, its ups and
downs, its highs and lows. But in Cleveland, where a black cloud hovers
perpetually over 76 Lou Groza Blvd. and turmoil roils on a seemingly daily
basis, it is quite different.

Pettine naturally would much rather deal with the Xs and Os
of the game and the personalities of his locker room. You know, the kind of
stuff most coaches experience.

Not in Cleveland.

Instead of totally concentrating on Sunday’s game in St. Louis
against the Rams, especially after coming off a hard-to-take overtime loss to
the Denver Broncos, Pettine has to deal with the latest misadventure of his
troubled backup quarterback.

Instead of facing questions with regard to the Rams game, he
has to deal with his thoughts on Johnny Manziel’s latest dalliance with the
law. He is, in essence and seemingly whether he likes it or not, the club’s
spokesman on matters such as this.

General Manager Ray Farmer is nowhere in sight. Now that he
is a few weeks distanced from his four-game suspension for doing something he
knew he shouldn’t, he should be the spokesman in this matter, not his coach,
who has enough to be concerned about without dealing with this.

And where is the owner, who purportedly made the command
decision to select Manziel in the college draft that fateful night about 18
months ago? He’s the man who signs the paychecks. Where in the world is Jimmy
Haslam III? He should be front and center, too.

This little problem has been dumped squarely in the lap of a
man whose job security very well could be teetering in the balance given the
on-the-field woes of his defense thus far this season.

Pettine, who had to deal earlier with an assistant coach who
had drinking and domestic abuse problems and was subsequently cashiered, is
facing the same thing again with Manziel, who was stopped by suburban Cleveland
police eight days ago for alleged domestic abuse.

Manziel, who underwent 10 weeks of rehabilitation at a
Pennsylvania addiction treatment center earlier this year, admitted having a
couple of drinks before being stopped for driving erratically. His live-in girl
friend accused him of hitting and beating her, according to a police report. She
later recanted the allegations.

Instead of trying to fix what might be irretrievably damaged
with his defense, Pettine is now forced to put on a totally different kind of
hat. He is in the unfortunate position of defending decisions over which he has
no control. He is tap dancing without a safety net.

Why, the media wants to know, was Manziel allowed to dress
for last Sunday’s game against Denver if the club knew of the incident? Pettine
bristled about locker room accountability. “There’s accountability,” he said.
“Some accountability is public, some of it is private.”

He labeled the Manziel police report “disturbing” and made
it clear the team is not finished investigating. But he cautioned the club is
basically in a holding pattern until the NFL completes its own investigation
into the matter. Considering the league is investigating, it’s anyone’s guess as
to when it will render a decision.

Asked if the Browns had given any thought about trading
Manziel, Pettine diplomatically replied, “I’m not going to discuss potential
roster moves.” At least he’s being honest rather than answering the question in
a non-answer manner.

So where does all this fall in the football coaching manual?
What chapter covers all things not football? Pettine should not have to go
through all this. But he’s doing it very well while his GM seemingly hides.

When he took the job, little did Pettine realize he was
stepping, quite innocently at the time, into a quagmire of trouble with a
franchise that was reborn in 1999 and has experienced nothing but grief for the
last 17 years.

At the risk of sounding repetitious, he doesn’t deserve
this. And if Haslam decides to once again clean out the front office and
Pettine is swept out, he won’t know it at the time, but the Browns will be
doing him a big favor.

Coaching a professional football team in Cleveland has become
a toxic job. Mike Pettine has found that out the hard way. This is not what he
banked on when he said yes at the beginning of 2014.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Monday leftovers

It was about 10 days ago when Browns defensive coordinator
Jim O’Neil schooled the Cleveland media about the aspect of the game of football
that helps pay his salary.

The Browns were at the time – and still are, in fact –
scraping the bottom of the National Football League statistical barrel when it
comes to stopping the opposition. O’Neil defended his position.

He used various forms of the word “execute” a lot. As in “at
the end of the day, you have to execute it.” And “it’s an execution league.”

Now you have to take into consideration O’Neil was speaking following
two losses in which his guys surrendered 907 yards. In the two games that
followed, they improved that stat to 819 yards in splitting back-to-back
overtime games.

So in theory, the Browns are improving in that area and
executing better. Not necessarily much better, but better relatively speaking.
Which, when you stop and really think about it, isn’t really better generally
speaking.

O’Neil zealously defends his role with the Browns. Although
technically a second-year coordinator, he is really in his first season in the
role after receiving plenty of help from head coach Mike Pettine, his mentor,
last season.

In falling on the old bromide of the NFL being an execution
league, he fails to take one very important thing into consideration. It lies
within the following statement: “I don’t feel like I need to over-scheme
against the offenses we’re going against because we have good players at every
level of the defense.”

Whoa.Hold on
there, pardner. Good players at every level of the defense? O’Neil is either
delusional or trying to convince himself of something that is not there.

I can understand defending the guys who play for him.
Criticizing them publicly is not the route to go. But to come out and call them
– at least most of them – something they are not is just plain wrong.

No, O’Neil does not
have good players at every level of the defense. He has a few. But most of the
players on that defense, with only a few notable exceptions, are average at
best.

“We just need guys to do their job,” O’Neil said. “We need to
do a better job executing more consistently.” There’s that word again. He’s
hiding behind it. It’s not my fault, he seems to be saying obliquely. It’s the
players’.

Saying it is one thing. Doing it is entirely different.

Former Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer always used to say,
“Deeds, men. Not words. Deeds.” Right now, O’Neil is just spouting words and
his men are not translating them into deeds.

The Browns, putting up worse defensive numbers than last
season through six games, are bad at just about every aspect of defense. It’s a
credit to the offense the club has won two games because the defense certainly
can’t hang its hat on them.

It surrenders 407 yards a game (397 last season through six
games), 150 on the ground (155 last season) and 268 through the air (241.5 last
season).

When Ray Horton guided the defense in 2013 before Jimmy
Haslam III blew out the front office and coaching staff, the Cleveland defense
permitted just 312.5 yards a game, 214.3 through the air and 98.2 on the
ground. And no, the last figure is not a typo.

Imagine where the Browns would be today with defensive
figures like 2013. Certainly not at 2-4.

Apparently, if we are to believe O’Neil’s creed, Horton
helmed a defense that executed well. Unfortunately, the Browns that season didn’t
have an offense that enabled the defense to stay off the field for long periods
at a time.

After winning three of the first five games, the Browns won
only once in the last 11 games, the defensive stats plunging as the 2013 season
wore down. The defense simply wore down along with it.

The current defense won’t get any better than it is right
now. It will wear down as the season progresses. Last season, the defense was
scorched for three 200-yard games on the ground, including two of the last
three. That’s what fans have to look forward to this season.

The current defense scares no one. Opposing offensive
coordinators need a bib to absorb the drool that occurs whenever the Browns’
game hits their schedules. Game planning made easy. Run against it? Of course.
Throw against it? Why not?

It’s time O’Neil realized he has been saddled with a
mediocre defense that hemorrhages not only yards on the ground, but real estate
through the air. And that his men are incapable of executing what he draws up.

So falling on the execution bromide is nothing more than an
exercise in futility. The Browns’ defense is exactly what it is. Statistics do
not lie. In this case, they say the Browns’ defense is awful. They are
absolutely correct.

And if the team’s offense is unable to sustain what it has
produced thus far, the slide down the standings ladder this season will make
last season’s five-game plunge at the end of last season look like a minor slippage.

Under O’Neil’s stewardship, the Browns have held an opponent
under 300 total yards in a game just twice in 22 games (against Cincinnati and
Buffalo last season). On 13 of those 22 occasions, they have given up at least
375 yards. Not exactly stats to be proud of.

Time to seriously think about either changing defensive
philosophy or bringing in someone whose philosophy produces more positive
results.

***

What happens when Browns quarterback Josh McCown is off his
game as he was Sunday against Denver? When his receivers wander into the
secondary of a team that plays solid pass defense? Like Denver’s Sunday? You
discover why he’s nothing more than a journeyman.

When presented by his defense with a gift-wrapped opportunity
to win the game moments into overtime, courtesy of a Barkevious Mingo
interception in Denver territory, he failed to take advantage (trying to be
nice here).

The Mingo pick might turn out to be the highlight of his season
– especially considering how his reps have dropped – and McCown turned it into a
study in frustration and no doubt anger for the fans, who saw a potential
victory slip away.

Slamming his offense into reverse with three straight
negative plays and winding up back in Cleveland territory serves as a microcosm
as to why McCown was never able to become a quality NFL quarterback. That he
has remained in the game for as long as he has is a testament to his ability to
convince teams he still has it.

The main reason the Browns took the Broncos into overtime
only to lose Sunday was the relative ineptitude of the Denver offense. The
figures don’t reflect it, but Peyton Manning was no more effective than McCown.
He just has a better defense to bail him out. A much better defense

* **

Despite being on the field for around 30 snaps against the
Broncos, rookie nose tackle Danny Shelton was parked at the bottom of the final
stat sheet with one assisted tackle. Wasn’t he supposed to be a three-down
player? If he’s not injured, he appears to have fallen into disfavor with the
coaches. Another first-round bust?

Last season it was Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel. This
season, it appears to be Shelton and offensive lineman Cameron Erving, who
played just well enough in the exhibition season to earn a spot on the bench
and become the first backup to everyone else on the line in the event of an
injury.

***

More Browns stats if you can stand it: Their opponents
average three touchdowns a game . . . The defense has caused only eight
turnovers (three of them against the Broncos) . . . It allows opposing
quarterbacks to complete 60% of their passes . . . In 71 drives thus far this
season, the offense has a per-drive average of 5.8 plays, 30.8 yards and 1.79
points.

* **

Notebook: Reason
for Aqib Talib’s pick 6 at the beginning of the second quarter Sunday? A poor
McCown throw on a sideline pattern to Travis Benjamin. Instead of firing the
ball, he seemed to take something off it. The ball hung up and the Broncos’
cornerback took it 63 yards for an easy score. . . . Rhetorical questions: Why
do the Browns have all kinds of problems stopping the opposition from running
the ball on the flanks (or as they are called now the edges)? And why do the
Browns have all kinds of problems running the ball on the flanks?. . . Pierre
Desir, subbing for injured cornerback Joe Haden, sat quietly atop the Browns’
stats sheet with 12 tackles against Denver, 10 of them solo. Probably felt as though
he was picked on. He was. . . . If
Karlos Dansby doesn’t get some sort of postseason recognition, he will be
shortchanged. He is easily the Browns’ best defender. Too bad he doesn’t get much
help. Maybe it’s because the veteran linebacker knows how to execute.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

The one that got away

In a 16-game season in the National Football League, there
are only a handful of games a team can look back on and say, “We deserved
to win that game.”

Take, for example, the Browns’ unfortunate 26-23 overtime
loss Sunday to the Denver Broncos in front of the home folks, whose emotions
were toyed with all afternoon.

When Denver placekicker Brandon McManus connected on
34-yard-field goal – his fourth of the afternoon – that gently kissed the left
upright before sneaking through with 4:56 left in the extra session, it served
as a microcosm for how the season has gone for the fortunate-to-be -unbeaten
Broncos.

It was also clearly an emotional wringer afternoon for Browns fans,
who saw their team take their only lead of the game at 20-16 on a Karlos
Dansby pick 6 midway through the fourth quarter.

Considering how poorly the Denver offense was playing,
especially in the red zone, an upset of major proportions loomed as the
unbeaten Broncos time and again failed to capitalize when reaching scoring
territory.

And then without warning, just like that, the Broncos turned
the four-point deficit into a three-point lead a mere 10 seconds after the
Dansby pick when quarterback Peyton Manning hooked up with Emmanuel Sanders on
a 75-yard scoring strike. It was the Broncos’ only offensive touchdown of the game.

Sudden joy became even more sudden despair for Browns fans.
All that work to take the lead went poof. Almost as quickly as a snap of the
fingers.

It was the first touchdown pass in more than eight quarters
for Manning, who struggled all afternoon with his throws despite throwing for
290 yards. If he wasn’t uncharacteristically missing wide-open receivers, he
was victimized by at least four drops as he resorted to the short and mid-range
passing game.

And yet, the Browns had numerous opportunities to win this
one, but misfired time and again on offense when presented with solid field
position. A portent of things to come arrived early.

Like when Dansby picked off Manning on the first Denver
drive of the game. Taking over at the Broncos’ 49, the Browns gained only 17 yards
before turning the ball over on downs.

Like when the Browns began at the Denver 48 late in the
third quarter following a 20-yard punt return by Travis Benjamin and quarterback Josh McCown was
strip sacked two plays later by linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who came clean from
the left side. That led to one of McManus’ field goals.

Like when a drive started at the Cleveland 40 late in the
fourth quarter, stalled at the Denver 8 and Browns kicker Travis Coons was called
on to tie the game at 23-23.

The Browns started eight of their 16 drives (not counting the short one at the end of the first half) from at least their 34-yard line and translated them into only 10 points. Two drives turned into a three-and-outs, another turned into the strip sack and an intercepted pass blunted a third.

Like when Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo made a rare
play, using his height to pick off a Manning pass on the first Denver series of
overtime. The Browns started at the Denver 39 with Coons warming up on the
sideline. The fans were equally stunned and delirious.

Sweet victory in this one was oh so close. Beating the Broncos,
who have brought a major portion of sorrow to Browns Nation over the years, was
just a few precious yards away for Coons to wrap up everything and send them
home happy, if not delirious. That close to ending a Denver 10-game winning
streak over Cleveland.

And then McCown, who blows hot and cold so much you begin to
realize why he is nothing more than a journeyman quarterback, went chilly in a
hurry. Running back Robert Turbin, making his season debut, turned a pitch into a three-yard
loss around left end on the first play.

(Why the Browns even try running the flanks is puzzling
because they don’t have an offensive line talented enough to pick up meaningful
yards on the edges. Strange play calling.)

Then it was backward march even more when McCown was sacked
on consecutive plays, losing 10 yards in the process. So first and 10 at the
Denver 39 wound up as a punting situation for Andy Lee on fourth and 28 at the
Cleveland 43.

Dan Fouts, commenting on the game for CBS-TV, couldn’t
believe his eyes. “It was there for the taking for the Browns,” he said, no
doubt shaking his head at the same time. It surely was there. And what happened is one of the many reasons the Browns
are 2-4 this season.

They needed to make just one play. One pass completion; one
big run; one big play. Is that asking too much? Apparently it is. It never
came. It’s the great separator between an average team and one that almost
consistently plays below average. Color the Browns in the last category.

Lee punted to Denver 12, where Jordan Norwood nearly fumbled
it away. And then the Cleveland defense, stout all afternoon in the red zone
and on third down but nowhere else, looked gassed as the Broncos strong-armed
their way down the field, converting two big third downs along the way.
Entering that series, the Broncos were just two-of-16 on third down.

Ronnie Hillman, who ran for 111 of Denver’s 152 yards, and
C. J. Anderson carried the ball eight times for 30 yards during the 13-play drive
with Manning mixing in passes to tight end Owen Daniels and Demaryius Thomas,
masterfully engineering the winning drive 72 yards to remain unbeaten against
the Browns lifetime.

The game nearly didn’t make it to overtime when Sanders made
what appeared to be a falling 23-yard catch at the Cleveland 20 with just 15
seconds left in regulation. He got up and continued to the end zone, but the
play was ruled dead at the spot of the apparent catch.

It would have put the Broncos in field-goal territory, but
replay overturned the original call of a completed pass when it showed Sanders
failed to control the ball as it hit the ground.

The fact the Browns were even in this game, let alone with a
lead at one point, seemed rather amazing considering how they looked in the
first half.

Their offense, which seemed on life support in the first 30 minutes,
awoke with an eight-play, 74-yard scoring drive to open the second half, McCown
connecting with Gary Barnidge on an 11-yard toss early in the third quarter. He
hooked up again with his favorite receiver on a 14-yard scoring catch early in
the fourth quarter.

On the Denver drive following Barnidge’s second touchdown,
Dansby picked off his second pass of the afternoon and tiptoed 35 yards down
the right sideline to give the Browns their first lead of the day at 20-16. A
two-yard conversion attempt failed.

McCown, falling woefully short of his fourth straight
300-yard game (he had 212), was victimized by a strong Denver pass rush and
quality coverage in the secondary. He was sacked four times and whacked another
half dozen. Once again, his immobility was costly at the wrong time.

Manning, even less mobile than McCown, threw the three
interceptions, but was sacked zero times, the third game this season the
Cleveland pass rush has posted that number in a game. The Denver quarterback
was hit, if you can call getting close enough to tap him, twice.

This was a game the Browns will look back at when the season
concludes and collectively shake their heads, wondering just how it got away
when it was clearly within grasp of evening the season record at .500. They
don’t have much time to dwell on it now with Rams in St. Louis Rams next up.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Do these figures lie?

A football statistics quiz in two parts. First, the offense.

Which National Football League team would you rather have
based on the following five-game offensive stats?

Team A: 111 points, 94 first downs, a .480 percentage on
third-down conversions, 1,887 total yards, 442 rushing yards, 1,557 passing
yards, a quarterback who completes 67.8% of his passes with six touchdowns and
one interception, an offensive line that has allowed 18 sacks and an offense
that has produced 11 touchdowns.

Or . . .

Team B: 92 points, 89 first downs, a .322 percentage on
third-down conversions, 1.513 total yards, 358 rushing yards, 1.234 passing
yards, a quarterback who completes 63.5% of his passes with six touchdowns and
seven interceptions, an offensive line that has permitted 12 sacks and an
offense that has produced eight touchdowns.

Which offense would you put your money on?

At first blush, it’s a no-brainer. Team A has more points, first
downs, total yards, rushing yards, passing yards, is significantly better on
third down, has a much more efficient quarterback and has scored more
touchdowns. The only negative is in the sack department.

Before the answer, let’s take a look at the same two teams,
this time from a defensive standpoint.

Team B: 79 points allowed, 92 first downs, .296 on third
down, 1,390 total yards, 426 on the ground, 1,108 through the air, a 64.8%
completion rate, seven interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 22 sacks
and seven touchdowns allowed.

Which defense would you prefer?

Another no-brainer. Team B is clearly the better team with
the exception of the completion rate of opposing quarterbacks, a minor
difference considering the other category stats. One team stat not factored in:
Team A is minus-3 in turnover ratio; Team B is plus-6.

Now put them all together, let the numbers ramble around in
your brain and arrive at the bottom line. Do all those figures add up to a
better Team A or Team B? Time to choose.

If you chose Team A, congratulations, you are truly a
Cleveland Browns fan. And if chose Team B, say hello to the Denver Broncos, whom
the Browns welcome to town Sunday.

That’s the unbeaten Denver
Broncos, the most unassuming, least deserving undefeated team in the NFL. All of
which points out the only thing keeping the Browns from at least contending in
the AFC North is a solid defense.

The 2-3 Browns are right there with the 5-0 Broncos on
offense and, in many cases, are better. Right now, Josh McCown is definitely a
better quarterback statistically than Denver’s Peyton Manning, whose regression
is sounding alarms in the Mile High City.

The venerable Manning, who threw 131 touchdowns passes in
his first three seasons in Denver, is perceptibly slowing down. The 39-year-old
future Hall of Famer has thrown more interceptions (seven) than touchdown
passes (six) this season, three of those scoring passes coming in one game, and
has been picked four times in the last two games.

Putting that in perspective, he threw five touchdown passes
in the Broncos’ season opener last season.

His arm isn’t what is used to be. The deep passing game for
the Broncos is merely a memory right now. Manning no longer has the arm to
stretch the field and force opposing defenses to play honestly.

(Now factor in a porous Cleveland secondary that has
intercepted only one pass this season and that was promptly lost when Tashaun
Gipson fumbled it right back.)

Statistically speaking, Manning is at his worst this season when
blitzed. His relative immobility is his only negative. It will be interesting
to see whether Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil recognizes that and dials
up more blitzes than he did against Joe Flacco last Sunday or shows him respect
and backs off.

Manning, who has won all five career starts against the
Browns, hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since connecting with tight end Owen
Daniels early in the third quarter of a 23-20 victory over Minnesota in week
four. That’s nearly six quarters ago.

The Broncos have been winning mainly because of a stifling,
aggressive defense that has bailed out the offense time and again all season. It
has also put up three scores (a couple of pick 6s and a fumble return). That’s
half as many touchdowns as Manning scoring passes.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who was the team’s head
coach in 1993 and 1994, returned this season after a couple of seasons in
Houston and has molded one of the NFL’s top defenses.

Last season, the Broncos gave up 354 points while winning
the AFC West. This season, they are on pace to surrender just 253. On offense,
however, the Broncos scored 482 points last season. This season, they are on
pace to score just 362. That’s a difference of almost eights points a game.

(At this point, a statistical oddity: The Broncos’ offense
has scored just three touchdowns in the second half this season. So has their
defense.)

All this proves, at least in this case, is solid defense
does, indeed, translate into winning football. The Browns’ brass at the
beginning of the season believed they had cobbled together the kind of defense
that would elevate the team into at least a competitive mode.

That, of course, has not been the case. Far from it, in fact.
If anything, the offense has been most responsible for the record thus far. And
in the Broncos, they will face the toughest defense since the season opener
against the New York Jets.

In that one, you’ll recall, the Cleveland offense jumped out
to a 10-3 second quarter lead, but was blanked the rest of the way in a 31-10
loss.

The Browns will face problems on two fronts Sunday.

Manning is way, way overdue to have a good game. He’s got big receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer and the
smallish Cleveland secondary has all kinds of difficulties with tall receivers.
However, he is hampered because running backs Ronnie Hillman and C. J. Anderson
average only 85 yards a game. (Remember the Browns can’t stop the run.)

On defense, the Broncos are as opportunistic as any team in
the NFL. They have created 14 turnovers (seven picks, seven fumble recoveries),
the three defensive touchdowns, two blocked kicks and the 22 sacks. Those sacks
are distributed among 11 players with outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Von
Miller totaling 7½.

There isn’t a better pair of cornerbacks in the NFL than
Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr., both of whom have a pick six. Former Ohio State defensive back Bradley
Roby is solid as the nickel back. Safeties Darian Stewart and ex-Brown T. J.
Ward are strong against the run game.

Miller, who will be offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz’s
responsibility, is one of the best pass rushers in the league. The Browns do
catch a break, though, with Ware sidelined with a bad back.

This has not exactly been a storied series even though the
Broncos won a couple of iconic playoff games in the late 1980s. Remember the
Drive? The Fumble? Deeply buried memories for Browns fans. Heavily treasured
memories for Broncos fans.

The Browns actually won three of the first four games in
this 27-game series, but have emerged victorious only twice in the last 23
meetings. The Broncos, who have won the last 10 in a row in the series, last
lost to the Browns in early October 1990 in Denver. The resurrected Browns are
0-6 against Denver.

The Browns, of course, are coming off a high with their
33-30 overtime victory last Sunday in Baltimore. McCown, banged up with ankle
and throwing hand miseries, will attempt to register his fourth straight
300-yard game.

There will be a 300-yard game, but it won’t belong to the
Cleveland quarterback. Manning will have all afternoon to throw the ball
against a feeble Browns pass rush and torch the secondary for 323 yards and
scoring passes to Bryant, Sanders and tight end Virgil Green. Hillman will run
for 111 yards and a touchdown.

This will be one afternoon when the Denver offense doesn’t
have to rely on the defense to get the job done. The Browns might score a
couple of touchdowns late when the Denver defense slips into coast mode. Make
it:

Monday, October 12, 2015

Monday leftovers

So who is this Gary Barnidge and where did he come from? And
why did it take so long for the Browns to recognize he could help their
offense?

Heading into this season, Barnidge was nothing more than
one-fourth of a quartet of tight ends on the roster. Known more for his
blocking, he labored under the notion that catching a football was secondary in
importance to his role in the run game.

Replacing the departed Jordan Cameron, who decided he liked
sunny Miami more than Cleveland, was a carousel of tight ends featuring
Barnidge, Jim Dray, Rob Housler and rookie EJ Bibbs. Round and round they went
in the first two games with less-than-desired results.

And then quarterback Josh McCown came back from the
concussion he suffered on the first series of the season. Little did the fans –
and perhaps even McCown himself – know at the time that a new battery, football
style, was about to give birth.

In the last three games, the McCown-Barnidge connection has clearly
captured the attention of the professional football world. Since discovering
one another, the duo has connected 20 times (in 26 targets) for 319 yards and
three touchdowns. All of which has turned Jordan Cameron into Jordan Who?

And even though the Browns have won only one of those games,
the spectacular results of this connection have emboldened the Cleveland
offense. Considering the way the defense has played (porously), the uplift
arrived just in time to avoid a total team disaster.

At the beginning of the season, it was expected the new defense
would be the focal point with the offense just trying to hang in there in
support. Instead, it has been exactly the opposite, much to the delight of the
fans, who would much rather see points, anyway.

After scoring just 10 points in the season-opening loss to the
New York Jets, the Browns have put up 108 points in the last four games, 101 by
the offense. And one of the main reasons is the McCown-Barnidge connection.

So again, who is this Gary Barnidge, where did he come from
and why has he been kept a secret?

The 6-6 tight end, originally drafted by the Carolina
Panthers, was signed by the Browns as an unrestricted free agent in the spring
of 2013 on the recommendation of then head coach Rob Chudzinski, who coached
him with the Panthers.

He labored, mostly anonymously, his first two seasons with
the Browns, catching 43 passes for 283 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was
no better than the third, and sometimes fourth, option on passing downs.

That was because Cameron was the main man at the position.
When he was healthy, that is, which wasn’t often enough. So when Cameron split
for Miami, where he has caught 12 passes for 170 yards this season, Barnidge
came more into focus.

But never in a million years would anyone believe the
spotlight would be shining so brightly on him at this time. Now the nation
knows him. His spectacular how-did-he-do-that, between-the-legs catch for a
touchdown in Sunday’s overtime victory in Baltimore is all over the Internet.

Miraculous, amazing, incredible and ridiculous are among the
many adjectives describing the catch. The Internet site thebiglead calls it “perhaps the touchdown catch of the year.” It
will live forever on YouTube.

Now all Barnidge has to do from here on out is go out week
after week and prove to the rest of the pro football world this isn’t a fluke,
an aberration. That at the age of 30, he’s just coming into his own. It could
become the feel-good story of the year in the National Football League.

But for the present, it’s safe to say he definitely is known
more now for his pass receiving than his blocking.

***

It was obvious from the beginning of the game that
Baltimore’s main intention against the Browns Sunday was to force McCown to
throw the ball. And did he ever.

Crowd the line of scrimmage, take away the Cleveland ground
game and the rest should come easy, the Ravens thought. But then Cleveland
offensive coordinator John DeFilippo appeared to say, “Screw it,” junked the
two tight end look, inserted a third wide receiver and then it was bombs away.

McCown threw the ball on two of every three plays against a
Ravens defense that might be their worst since they moved to Baltimore in 1996.
Because the secondary had a tough time in coverage, the Ravens resorted to
blitzing on just about every down.

McCown recognized many of the blitzes and hit the proper
receiver, but on at least a half dozen occasions failed to do so and was either
sacked or forced to scramble. He could have avoided at least three of his four
sacks by hitting his hot receiver in such situations, but failed to get the
ball off.

What also worked very well were a few misdirection plays
DeFilippo incorporated into the game plan. Each one worked as he took advantage
of an overaggressive Baltimore defense. Would like to see more of those in the
future. Nothing wrong with making the offense unpredictable.

***

Where is Paul Kruger? Is he still with the Browns? Did he
play Sunday against his old team? Yes, he’s still with the Browns, but you
would never know it when perusing the stats sheet following the overtime
victory.

Yes, No. 99 was in the game. Played a good number of plays
in fact. But his name did not appear anywhere on that stats sheet. No tackles,
no quarterback hits and one hurry (a stat that doesn’t show up on the sheet).
It was almost as though he didn’t play at all. He’s stuck at a half a sack this
season.

He came close to sacking Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco once in
the fourth quarter, but his lunging, flailing swipe at Flacco’s leg during a
scramble was as close as he got to the stats sheet.

The Browns’ pass rush needs a spark. It has 10 sacks in five
games, seven of them in one game. It can’t go on like this much longer,
especially with quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Andy Dalton
and Ben Roethlisberger in the next five games.

Kruger was brought to Cleveland to sack opposing
quarterbacks. It’s incumbent on the defensive coaching staff to give him that
opportunity rather than dropping him into pass coverage. It makes no sense
whatsoever to totally misuse a player who has the ability to strengthen a
weakness.

***

Danny Shelton was drafted last April with the sole intention
of dropping him into the middle of the defensive line and forgetting about him.
Don’t worry about stopping the running game anymore, the fans were told by the
Browns. The rookie will take care of that.

Well . . . no he hasn’t. The heralded rookie nose tackle,
known in college for his ability to handle the run as well as harass the
quarterback, has just 13 tackles (five solo) and no sacks in five games. He had
two tackles against the Ravens. He’s still looking for his first pro sack.

The Browns’ run defense is worse than ever, hemorrhaging
nearly 150 yards a game. The defensive line rarely stops anything up the middle
even tough Shelton doesn’t see nearly as many double teams as he did in the
first two games. This is not the kind of production the Browns expected from
the kid.

***

Beating a division opponent, especially on the road, means a
lot, of course, but it won’t mean much if the Browns return home Sunday against
the unbeaten Denver Broncos and flame out. Was the Baltimore victory a turning
point? We’ll find out soon enough.

***

Notebook: The
Cleveland defense registered only two quarterback hits and a sack (Armonty Bryant)
against Flacco.. The Ravens dropped McCown four times, hit him five more times
and racked up a whole bunch of hurries. . . . McCown sustained an apparent
ankle injury in the second half, but you’d never know it from his performance.
. . . The Cleveland quarterback has thrown a pass on 72% of the plays in the last
three games. That’s nearly three out of every four plays. Talk about a
turnaround in offensive philosophy. . . . Did anyone notice wide receiver
Dwayne Bowe was a healthy scratch again? What a waste. Time to cut bait?. . . The
Browns were penalized twice for delay of game, once right out of a timeout.
That should never happen. . . . McCown now has as many victories with the
Browns as he did last season with Tampa Bay.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

What a pleasant surprise

It was generally believed at the beginning of the 2015
season that the Browns would be a run-first, pass-only-if-they-had-to team.

The offensive line returned intact once center Alex Mack
recovered from a broken leg last season, Isaiah Crowell was back with his
slashing, hammering style and rookie Duke Johnson Jr. provided third-down
relief.

Quarterback Josh McCown was almost an afterthought with
regard to his role with the offense. The journeyman arrived in town with the
reputation of being extremely untrustworthy when it came to throwing a
football. So it was easy to assume the Cleveland offense would live and die
with the run.

Well, all that has changed in the last three weeks with
McCown flirting with the Browns’ long and storied record book when it comes to
passing the prolate spheroid.

What McCown did Sunday in the Browns’ gritty, had-to-be-seen-to-be-believed
33-30 comeback victory in overtime against the Ravens in Baltimore sent the
media scrambling for the record books.

They discovered the 36-year-old McCown, playing with a
busted-up throwing hand, broke Brian Sipe’s club record (444) for most passing
yards (457) in a regular-season game en route to becoming the first Cleveland
Browns quarterback ever to record three consecutive 300-yard games.

Bernie Kosar holds the overall club records for most attempts
(64) and passing yards (489). He put up those numbers in a double-overtime
playoff victory over the New York Jets in January 1987 with the old Browns.

McCown, in the face of a withering Baltimore pass rush, was
brilliant when he had to be. He often steadfastly remained in the pocket and
took four hurtful sacks (a fifth was wiped out by a Baltimore penalty), but
started stepping up into the pocket and/or scrambling in the second half.

In his last three games since coming back from a concussion
suffered in the season-opening loss to the New York Jets, McCown is 96 for 141
(a 68% completion percentage) for a gaudy 1,154 yards, six touchdowns and just
one interception. And all he has to show is this victory, which raised his
personal road record to 5-20.

It’s a wonder his arm wasn’t dangling by his side from
exhaustion at the end of this one. He put the ball up 51 times for the 457
yards in his 58 dropbacks.

This game featured just about everything, including
successful challenges by Baltimore coach John Harbaugh on consecutive plays,
numerous penalties that hurt and helped both teams and a miraculous circus
catch for a touchdown by Cleveland tight end Gary Barnidge that defied belief.

Relying on just about anyone who could get open, McCown’s’ ball
distribution was superb with nine different receivers, most notably Barnidge,
who was targeted 10 times. He wound up with eight receptions for 139 yards and
has become McCown’s favorite target.

His unbelievable touchdown catch, which gave the Browns a
short-lived 22-21 lead early in the fourth quarter, falls into the category of
odd and yet miraculous.

McCown, barely avoiding a sack by a Ravens blitz, heaved the
ball toward the goal line, where the 6-6 Barnidge outjumped and outfought 6-1
safety Will Hill for the jump ball, which came down and landed awkwardly
between the Cleveland tight end’s calves on the goal line.

As he worked the ball up into his grasp, it looked at one
point as though he had either crapped a football or given birth to one. After
maneuvering the ball up into his grasp, the officials huddled before signaling touchdown.

The Browns survived a sluggish first half where their three
scores arrived in the form of Travis Coons field goals and the Ravens’ two scores arrived as the Joe Flacco Show, the quarterback running for one score and throwing for a second. He added a third touchdown midway through the third quarter with a one-yard sneak.

The defense had no answer for the Ravens’ ground game – 181
yards; shocking, no? – as little Baltimore running back Justin Forsett ran
through, around and past the Cleveland defenders most of the afternoon.
Ironically, he sprained an ankle in a 33-yard catch and run with a Flacco pass
during the Ravens’ game-tying field-goal drive and watched overtime on the
sideline.

For a while during that drive, it looked as though the
Ravens, trailing by three at 30-27 following Crowell’s 22-yard scoring romp
with a McCown pass and a successful two-point conversion, would win the game
outright in regulation after marching easily down to the Cleveland 10 as the
clock wound down to a minute.

But the Cleveland defense, which seemed to come to life in
the second half, stiffened and forced a short Justin Tucker field goal with 25
seconds left.

Then the Browns did something daringly, and surprisingly,
different. They actually tried to get into position to win the game with a
Coons field goal even though they began the next drive at the 20-yard line.
Instead of just taking a knee and taking their chances in overtime, they
actually pushed the ball upfield.

Maybe it was because the coaching staff had tremendous
faith in McCown that two Travis Benjamin receptions advanced the ball the Baltimore
34 before time ran out in regulation.

Then came the overtime, where the Browns’ defense,
determined not to be the culprit again if this turned into yet another disappointing
loss, really stepped up. The Ravens won the toss, but went three-and-out (their
fourth of the afternoon) when Flacco twice was forced to throw the ball away
due to solid coverage in the Cleveland secondary.

That’s when the Browns’ offense, feeding off the defense,
seemed determined to hand the Ravens’ their second loss in two games at home
this season. Working with meticulous ease, the Browns burned seven minutes and
11 seconds off the clock with a methodical, demoralizing (for the Ravens) 12-play,
51 yard drive.

Superbly mixing short passes in with the running of Johnson and Crowell, the Browns reached the Baltimore 20 following a
five-yard blast by Crowell over left guard Joel Bitonio.

Surely well within reach for a game-winning field goal by
Coons. So why prolong the agony? Kick the damn ball now and everyone will go
home happy with a victory over the hated Ravens.

But no. Coach Mike Pettine wanted to prolong the agony (for
Browns fans, as well as Ravens fans). A Johnson dive off guard produced
nothing. Now the kick? Nope.

What was Pettine waiting for?A McCown scramble, which is a bit of an oxymoron considering
he isn’t the most nimble quarterback in the National Football League, netted a
yard.

Finally, Pettine had seen enough and sent out Coons, who
remained perfect on the season with a 32-yarder that sent Flacco crashing to
his second loss ever against the Browns and first in Baltimore.

The most notable achievement for the Browns was their grit
after falling behind, 21-9 in the first half. In the past, they would have
fallen apart in such situations. For whatever reason, they did it differently this time, which
should make the next few days a little more enjoyable in Browns Nation.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Ravens ripe for an upset?

Game planning for Sunday’s game in Baltimore against the
Ravens should be easy for Browns defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil.

The Ravens haven’t run the ball very well this season and
Joe Flacco is a quarterback with no bullets in his gun belt.

Easy, no? Stack the line of scrimmage, force Flacco to throw
the ball and everything else will fall into place, right? At least on the
defensive side of the ball.

With veteran Steve Smith sidelined with a bad back, the rest
of the Ravens’ receiving corps is loaded with scraps. Even Cleveland’s
less-than-mediocre roster of receivers looks better right now compared to what
Flacco has in his huddle.

Attack the Ravens’ weakness. Right now, that’s the passing
game featuring Flacco and a bunch of never-heard-of-thems.

The Browns’ secondary gets cornerback Joe Haden back, but
lose free safety Tashaun Gipson. Even so, if it can’t shut down that crew, this
team is in big trouble. The key, of course, against a less-than-foreboding
offense is to load the box and stop the run. Force second- and third-and-long. Make
life uncomfortable for Flacco.

All the Browns have to do is stop running back Justin
Forsett, who gets the vast majority of carries. Then again, the way the Browns
have once again failed miserably at stopping that aspect of an opposing
offense, that might be much easier said than accomplished.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old Forsett bounced around the NFL
for six seasons before becoming a full-time starter last year in his first
season in Baltimore after Ray Rice was released due to domestic abuse problems.
After shedding his journeyman status, he ran for 1,266 yards and eight
touchdowns.

The 5-8, 195-pounder got off to a slow start this season
with just 124 yards in the Ravens’ first three games before busting loose for
150 yards in an overtime victory in Pittsburgh last Thursday night.

Limiting Forsett seems to be the key. Stop him and the
chances of knocking off the Ravens increase exponentially. The only statistic
not factored into this equation is Flacco’s dominance against the Browns. It
should not be ignored. He has lost just once in 14 games against Cleveland.

After becoming the Ravens’ top choice in the 2008 college
draft, he reeled off 11 straight victories against the Browns, the only blemish
against his AFC North rivals a 24-18 setback in Baltimore in 2013.

In those 14 games, he has completed nearly 62% of his passes
for slightly more than 3,000 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions
(just five in the last 13 games). Over the years, though, he had a lot of help
on offense and one of the National Football League’s top defenses. That’s not
nearly the case this season.

Defensive stalwarts such as Ray Lewis Ed Reed, Bart Scott,
Haloti Ngata and Jarret Johnson are no longer around to help, and Terrell Suggs
is out for season with a torn Achilles’ tendon. Missing on offense are the likes
of Rice, Todd Heap, Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith and a very good offensive line.

These are not your same Ravens, who are fortunate not to be
entering this one with a winless record. The only reason they beat the Steelers
in that Thursday night game was the inability of now former Pittsburgh kicker Josh
Scobee to hit two very makeable field goals in regulation.

The current Baltimore defense surrenders 347 yards a game,
nearly 260 of those yards through the air. And with Cleveland quarterback Josh
McCown showing no reticence to throw the football, look for the Browns to take
advantage and attack the Ravens more through the air than on the ground on
Sunday.

The Baltimore defense has produced two of the club’s nine touchdowns,
but also gives up 26 points a game, a pace that will produce the worst season
on that side of the ball for the franchise since its inaugural season in 1996,
when it allowed 441.

All of which means Flacco can’t rely anymore on a normally
stingy defense to limit opponents’ scoring opportunities and make his job
easier. Unlike the past, he finds himself in a position where putting points on
the scoreboard is a must in order to give his team a better chance of winning
because the defense has sprung leaks.

At the same time, the Baltimore quarterback has thrown
interceptions in four straight games, something he has never done before in his
eight-year career.

No longer is the Ravens’ defense capable of forcing its will
on opposing offenses. Even with the likes of outside linebackers Elvis Dumervil
and Courtney Shaw and inside linebacker C. J. Mosley, it’s just not the same.

If the Browns can scrounge up a pass rush – it has been
missing since their seven-sack salvo in the Tennessee victory in game two – and
harass Flacco in relentless fashion, the prospect of winning increases. Just
know, however, the Ravens’ offensive line has been stingy in its protection of
Flacco, giving up only seven sacks.

Because neither team dominates on either side of the ball,
clearly reflective in their 1-3 records, the result of this one very well might
depend on which team makes the fewest mistakes. Discipline will be a factor.

And since neither club is what you would call disciplined
with regard to penalties, mistakes
are likely to permeate the game. The Browns’ 34 penalties have cost them 290
yards this season; the Ravens’ 30 penalties have cost them 270 yards.

This one could get ugly in a hurry with both clubs
floundering. Both teams will shut down the run (yes, that includes the Browns).
So look for McCown and Flacco to go up top frequently with McCown continuing his
annoying habit of throwing at least one interception at the most inappropriate
time.

Flacco, however, is too good to extend his interception
streak to five games. Somehow, he will find a way through the penalty-filled
game to make a play and continue his dominance over Cleveland in a game featuring
kickers Justin Tucker of Baltimore and the Browns’ Travis Coons. Make it:

Monday, October 5, 2015

Monday leftovers

It’s still a bit early to draw any conclusions, but from
what fans saw Sunday from Browns rookie running back Duke Johnson Jr., the
future of the club’s running game is bright.

The youngster from Miami of Florida gives the Cleveland
ground game a dimension it hasn’t for a long time. He is more than just a guy
who lugs the ball from time to time.

Johnson, the youngest player on the roster, also has a great
feel for the passing game, both long and short, and proved that over and over
in Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers. It’s the kind of stuff you can’t
teach at an early age. Either you have it or you don’t. He does.

Get used to seeing offensive coordinator John DeFilippo use
his prize rookie all over the field. Sometimes, he’ll be lined up in an offset
I. Other times, you might see him in the slot or flanked wide.

Once word about Johnson spreads around the National Football
League, it will eventually be a case for opposing defenses to identify where
Johnson is in the formation. Against the Chargers, he caught his 28-yard
scoring pass from Josh McCown after lining up in the left slot.

His ability to make himself available for checkdown passes
adds another bullet to McCown’s gun belt and the quarterback took full advantage
against the Chargers, often dumping the ball just as he was getting hit.

Johnson’s quick feet, which always seem to be moving, enable
him to make chicken salad out of chicken feces. The 5-9, 205-pounder is
difficult to pin down because he is always a moving target.

He was hemmed in a couple of times by the Chargers Sunday
and turned a potential negative play into something positive. On the first play
of the Browns’ third series of the game, he was trapped behind the line of
scrimmage for a potential five-yard loss, but kept his feet moving, somehow
wiggled free and delivered a three-yard gain.

On the third play of the final first-half possession, he
caught a checkdown pass on a third-and-2, shook of a tackle at the line of
scrimmage and picked up the first down with a three-yard gain.

It’s little things like that that often go unnoticed or
unappreciated, but you can bet DeFilippo took notice. Johnson got 17 touches –
watch that total rise significantly in the weeks ahead – that produced 116 yards.
When you have a talent like Johnson, it should not be wasted.

After watching Cleveland running backs become almost
non-existent in the passing game the last couple of seasons, it is refreshing
to see Johnson give opposing defenses something else to think about when Cleveland
has the ball. When he is in the game, there is nothing one dimensional about
the Browns’ attack.

Johnson also has a knack for finding soft spots in opposing
defenses, which has to be comforting to McCown, whose flirtations with possible
sacks was becoming a concern due to holding on to the ball too long.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes DeFilippo to
incorporate Johnson into the between-the-tackles running game. Right now, that
job belongs to Isaiah Crowell, who enjoyed modest success against the Chargers.

And the chances of Johnson becoming an every-down back, as
he was at Miami? Right now, not very high. But if he continues to improve on
what we saw in San Diego Sunday, the likelihood of that changing is quite high.

***

There is one play in the Browns’ playbook that needs to be
addressed in a hurry. It is a staple called the screen pass. Most, if not all,
NFL teams have screen plays in their playbooks.

The Browns shouldn’t.

Why not? One look at how they execute one of the most basic
plays of an offense and you would understand the best move the Browns can make
is to remove those plays from the playbook and have a bonfire.

Successful screen plays are the result of good acting and
exquisite timing, neither of which the Browns can come even close to providing.
The last time the Browns ran a successful screen play was . . . was . . . hmmmm
. . . I can’t even remember.

It seems the Cleveland offensive line is incapable of (a)
acting as though it is pass blocking and then (b) drifting out into the flat in
time to afford the ball carrier a screen to pick up significant yards. This group
of offensive linemen doesn’t seem to be athletic enough to get into position in
the flat in time to make a play.

It tried on a few occasions against the Chargers, but often
was usually late to the spot or out of position to make a play. So why even
bother when the odds of being successful are practically nil? Why not run plays
that actually work?

***

If there is one aspect of the defense that has been
consistent this season, it has been its awfulness (yep, there’s such a word),
its inability to make plays when they are most needed.

Take the Chargers loss, for example. The team received an
emotional lift when the offense tied the game at 27-27 with 2:09 left in regulation.
All the club needed was one stop, one measly stop for a change to send the game
into overtime.

The defense, which belches 411 yards a game, ole’d the San
Diego offense with only a token challenge or two. Never in the process did it
force a third down until the Chargers had run down the clock and maneuvered the
ball to the center of the field to set up Josh Lambo’s winning field goal with
no time left.

No one stepped up to make a play. And therein lies this
team’s biggest problem. They either don’t know what it takes to play clutch
football or don’t know how. If it’s the latter, that’s a big problem. Another
problem is lack of a take-charge guy. Maybe it’s time for Mike Pettine to
reintroduce himself to that side of the ball.

***

It appears the Browns made the correct decision when they
anointed Travis Coons as their placekicking specialist. Coons, who beat out
Mayfield High School graduate Carey Spear for the job, kept the Browns in the
game with four field goals against the Chargers. He is perfect on seven attempts
this season.

***

Gary Barnidge has been a pleasant revelation in the
Cleveland passing game. The veteran tight end, known more for his blocking than
receiving, is tied with Travis Benjamin for the team lead in catches with 16.
His 235 yards rank second on the club, as do his two touchdown receptions. He
has become a valuable weapon in McCown’s arsenal, making Jordan Cameron’s
defection to Miami less painful at least for the time being.

***

Notebook: Justin
Gilbert quietly has become the Browns’ main kickoff return man. While he seems
lost as a cornerback, he appears much very comfortable returning kicks. He
returned three against the Chargers for 110 yards, including a 38-yarder. . .
.Why in the world has defensive
coordinator Jim O’Neil taken away what Paul Kruger does best, which is rush the
passer? Dropping back into pass coverage negates why the club signed Kruger in
the first place. Last season’s sack leader (by far) has just half a sack this season.
. . . In case you missed it, silent Dwayne Bowe was in long enough to have one
pass thrown his way in San Diego. It was one of McCown’s nine incompletions. .
. . Rookie defensive tackle Xavier Cooper registered his first sack of the season.
. . . The Browns intercepted 21 passes last season. This season, they are stuck
on one.